Humberstone

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For the former saltpeter refinery, see Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works.

Humberstone is an urban village in Leicester, England. It is in the east of the city, and grew in the industrial revolution outside the borders of the city. It was formally annexed to the city in 1935.

Today Humberstone consists of several main areas -

  • the old village - Humberstone Village
  • the new developments - Humberstone

The modern ward of Humberstone has a population of about 8,000, and the A47 road is named variously Humberstone Road and Humberstone Gate as it goes through the city centre.

The "Humber stone" is a granite monolith of unknown (perhaps glacial) origin that lies in a field in the village. Until 1750 it had been fully exposed, but was then truncated and the remainder buried by a farmer. In the 1980s it was partially uncovered and made accessible to the public.